


dearest

by Tazmaster



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other, Post-Episode: s03e01-02 Juno Steel and the Man in Glass, Self-Reflection, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazmaster/pseuds/Tazmaster
Summary: "I don't know why you would keep this silly thing." He mutters. The hardness in his voice cuts Juno like glass. It's been like this since he joined the Carte Blanche, these sharp edges. While he can't say he doesn't deserve it, it still hurts the same.---A slight canon-divergent ending to Man in Glass.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	dearest

**Author's Note:**

> hey! here's a jupeter fic just to test the waters. i've really wanted to write something for these two, sorry its so short! any comments and kudos are appreciated! :)

Juno fumbles, like he always does. Tries to focus while rummaging through his luggage. He’s stalling, he knows he is, because he knows exactly where it is. 

He could have just thrown it away, but the fact is he didn't. That's why he's here now.

"Juno?" Nureyev says and boy, did Juno miss hearing his name on his lips. He tries not to focus on the inflections of Nureyev’s voice. _Focus Steel._ He tosses aside another shirt from his suitcase.

“Hello? Earth to detective?” Nureyev calls again. “You know when you invited me to your room--”

“Here.” Juno says finally, pulling out a thick stack of paper bounded by some string. On the very top was a smaller paper, folded and worn. He turns to Nureyev sitting perfectly on his bed, hands in his lap like he’s waiting for someone to take his picture. Juno takes a seat next to him, untying the string. 

When the papers are free, he takes the small paper, unfolds it, and offers it to Nureyev. Nureyev doesn’t take it at first. 

"You…kept it." Nureyev's hands flex. A nervous tick he has that no name could ever change. Nureyev looks at the worn letter, his face almost unreadable aside from the crinkle in his brow.

"Uh, yeah. I did." Juno says stupidly, because of course, he kept it. He spent months trying to get rid of it, almost ripped it to pieces even. Anything to get his mind off of him.

But like most things, that never happened, because every time Juno saw that flowing script, he was in his old apartment all over again. The scent of cologne, the press of a kiss, the excitement of having a whole galaxy at your fingertips… 

Even now, Juno didn't know if that galaxy was his future, or Nureyev. 

Maybe it was both.

Nureyev reaches out and takes the letter. 

"I don't know why you would keep this silly thing." He mutters. The hardness in his voice cuts Juno like glass. It's been like this since he joined the Carte Blanche, these sharp edges. While he can't say he doesn't deserve it, it still hurts the same. 

"I wanted to apologize-- no, I _am_ going to apologize." Juno corrects himself, trying to shrug the world off his shoulders. He ignores how Nureyev's eyes widen. "I know I hurt you. I shouldn't have left that night and I've been..." He takes the papers sitting in his lap and offers them to Nureyev. "...trying to make up for it ever since."

He takes them gently from his hands. Juno tries not to notice the hesitation in it. 

There is a sheer vulnerability in sitting alone with Peter Nureyev. 

Juno couldn’t recognize it before it was too late. Nureyev’s so-called gift to Juno… really was a gift. A name was a name, that’s true. And, hell, maybe that wasn’t even the important part. It was the action. _Giving_ something of yourself to someone else. The vulnerability of trust. The idea that Juno could truly expose Peter Nureyev to the world, but he wouldn’t. They both knew that.

So maybe Juno could give Nureyev a gift too. 

“What--?”

“They are letters.” Juno says firmly. “I didn’t know if I was actually going to see you again, so I thought I’d write down everything I wanted to say to you, in case... I don’t know.” He closes his eyes. _You can do this_. “In case I didn’t.”

Nureyev is quiet for what feels like an eternity. Juno resists the urge to reach out, to pull him close and-- No. Juno made his decision when he left that night. 

He would just have to live with that. 

"I hope you don't expect me to be able to read this." Nureyev says bluntly, squinting at the letters. He turns to Juno. "Your handwriting is atrocious, dear." Juno frowns. 

"Hey, that's--" He gets cut off by the press of Nureyev's lips on his. He can feel his head start spinning, and his heart beating rhythms in his chest. Then it's gone as quickly as it came. 

Nureyev, poised as always, pushes his glasses up. There's a small grin on his lips, one that makes his canines poke out in the way that Juno adores.

"Let's give these a read shall we?"

**Author's Note:**

> check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/tazatouilles) and [tumblr](http://tazatouille.tumblr.com)


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